I am currently trying out the Garmin 2720 and the Magellan 6000, both top end units, to see which one I am going to keep. Tough choice ! Both are terrific for routing, have all the advanced features, like text to speech and traffic info option, but neither one is perfect.
Here are the pros and cons of the Garmin 2720, as compared to the Magellan Roadmate 6000:

Pros:
1. The maps of the 2720 are much more readable. On the 6000, it is hard to see which street label belongs to which line. The 6000 is also practically useless to use as a map (just scrolling and zooming around), since it is way too slow and jumpy. The 2720 is perfect in these respects. Scrolling is very smooth. When a destination is entered, the corresponding map is shown, and can be zoomed in. Very cool. I had first tested the 6000, and once I tried the 2720 I could not believe how good it was (or how bad the 6000 was). The map quality is a difference like day and night. With the 6000, I had trouble to understand the map even for the areas I am familiar with, like the block around our home or office.

2. Dash mount. I prefer the beanbag mount of the 2720, since it is easy to move from one car to another, or to stow away. Plus, the windshield mount is not legal in CA. For the 6000, no beanbag option is offered yet. With the beanbag mount, the unit does usually sit a little farther away from the driver (at least in my car), but this is no problem with the 2720, since it has a convenient remote control.

Cons:
1. No battery ! Very annoying that you can program your route on the 2720 only after starting the car. This problem is compounded by the long startup time of the 2720 (around 10 sec vs. 1 second for the 6000), and the fact that the 2720 does not start to navigate until it has a satellite lock. So when I start the car, enter my destination and start driving, there will be no directions. The 2720 then has trouble to get the inital satellite lock while driving, so I have to pull over and wait until it has the lock and gives directions. The 6000 starts navigating from the last known position. Also, I can take the 6000 home and program it from my sofa, then take it with me to the car and start driving.

2. Interactive POI: most POI (like restaurants) are not displayed on the 2720 map. You need to search for them via menu, and then get a list. On the 6000, you see the icons for restaurants, gas station etc. displayed right on the map, and you can click on an icon to get details or to have the 6000 plot the route to them.

3. POI search. On the 2720, you can only search for POI around your current location, or any other specific location that you need to enter first. If you don't know the approximate location, you are out of luck. With the 6000, you can enter a restaurant name and bring up matches for the whole state. I used it to find a restaurant in a city 300 miles away, and it only took a few seconds. On the 2720, it was very difficult to find it at all.

4. Destination search. If you enter a city or street that does not exist (due to typo), the 2720 will bring up a prompt "Not found". The 6000 is much smarter and does not even let you enter something invalid. If you enter the first city letter, for example, then it presents only those letters for your choice of the 2nd letter that correspond to actual cities in the database, others are grayed out. Very convenient.

5. Destination entry order. With the 6000, you enter the street first. You can omit prefixes like N or S. It will then show you the available range of numbers. This is very convenient if you just want to drive to a certain street (i.e. you know that a certain restaurant is on that street), but don't know the number. Enter the street first on the 6000, then pick some number in the middle of the available range and go. It will also figure out the street prefix based on the number. With the 2720, you need to enter the number first, and then later you get a prompt to correct it if it was invalid.

6. Locate button. The 6000 has one. Press it, and it shows you city and nearby street and other details, and you can also save it. The 2720 has no such feature.

7. Route options. Both have "shortest time" or "shortest distance" options, but only the 6000 also has options "prefer freeways" and "avoid freeways".

8. Screen size. The 6000 screen is a bit larger.

I have not made a decision yet. Even though there are only two areas where the 2720 has the advantage over the 6000, these two points weigh heavily. Especially the map readability, since this is one of the main reasons to have a GPS. As I said, tough choice.

UPDATE AS OF 08/21/06:
I returned the Magellan 6000. Due to the poor map display, it was of little use, no matter what features it offered.
The 2720, even with the shortcommings listed above, is much more usable and even enjoyable in daily use. I have also updated it's firmware with the latest version from the Garmin website (was very easy to do), and now at least item 3 (POI search) is pretty much fixed. It still takes quite long to find a POI that is far away (2 minutes vs. 10 seconds on the 6000, for a POI 300 miles away). But at least you can find it at all, plus it gives an indication of the increasing search radius while it is searching. Since such a search scenario is pretty infrequent, I can live with the delay. The fact that Garmin improved the firmware also makes me hopefull that some of the other shortcommings can be fixed over time (except for the missing battery of course).

As for the missing battery, we compared the 2720 against the Garmin nuvi 360, which has a very similar feature set and operation, but includes a battery. The nuvi 360 has some advantages, it's ideal for carrying around and has a few extras like MP3 player. Still, our verdict was to stick with the 2720. This was mosty my wife's decision who by now has fallen in love with the 2720. It was due to the follwing advantages the 2720 has over the nuvi:
- 2720 has a larger and brighter display
- 2720 sits very secure on it's beanbag mount and can be moved easily to another vehicle. It feels and is more robust.
- 2720 includes the City Navigator on DVD, where you can plan your route ahead of time and make changes, then download it to the 2720. This is invaluable for larger trips. Even if you don't make any changes, it is very helpful to preview the route on the larger computer screen, zoom into sections etc. We tried it for one route and found it to be terrific. (Only inconvenience again is that you need to connect the unit to an AC adaptor in addition to the computer as it has no battery)
- The audio is a bit better, due to the larger speaker

So bottom line, we decided on this GPS, the Garmin Street Pilot 2720. I'll keep it a 3 stars for it's missing battery and other smaller shortcommings, but after our research it's still the best unit out there.

UPDATE AS OF 08/28/06:
We have now completed our first longer trip with the 2720, and it worked out great. So we are confident that we made the right decision. Routing was efficient, it picked the perfect routes and guided us flawlessly. The best part however, as compared to other devices, is the terrific quality of the map display. It looks that the 2720 is smart enough to always show the right angle and zoom, depending where you are (on highway, approaching a ramp, in rural area, in city streets etc), to give you the most information. Also, the map is very easy and quick to grasp, even in an unfamiliar area, which is important while driving. Just to give an example: While on the highway, traffic was slowing, and we could see a jam ahead. There was also an exit just comming up. Wondering if I should take it, I glanced at the 2720 and saw that it displayed the exit, highlighted a parallel street a few blocks away, and even showed at a bird's eye view how that street would merge back onto our highway a few miles away. So I just took the exit, and the 2720 recalculated the route immediately and guided me on the parallel road and then back onto the highway later. Voila, the jam was gone. I did not have to press any button or interact with the 2720 in any way while doing the detour. I guess when using the traffic info feature, the 2720 would even do such recommendation proactively, but I have not tried this yet. It works just fine the way it is.

To round this review up, during daily use we have found that we do not miss the few firmware shortcommings that much (and Garmin is improving on them). The battery we do miss a bit, but less than we originally thought. You will have to decide for yourself, of course. We found that once the novelty of the GPS wears off, we no longer carry the unit home that much to play with it (for which we'd miss the battery). And while driving, we just enjoy the precise directions and the terrific map.

I recently purchased a 2720 after my wife appropriated my 2620 on a full time basis. So I am an experienced Garmin mobile GPS user.

I had the 2620 for about 18 months and did a fair amount of research into competing products (Tom-Tom, Magellan, etc.) before deciding to go with the 2720.

I like my 2620 a lot, but I like the 2720 even more.

The 2720 acquires a satellite signal very quickly - substantially more quickly than the 2620. Two days ago I turned my 2720 off at the Avis return center at LaGuardia Airport in NY and flew home to Chicago. When I turned the unit on in the parking lot at O'Hare it took less than 10 seconds to acquire the satellites and display my location.

I've read about the problems others have reported in their reviews. And to be honest, I've never experienced any of them. I have never had trouble acquiring satellites quickly; the connectors don't come undone; the voice quality is fine, and I've NEVER had a problem with the beanbag mount sliding off (or even moving around on) the dashboard. And I use this unit almost every week in a different rental car in a different city.

Maybe I don't go too far off the beaten path, but I am seldom unable to find a location with my Garmin. In fact, the 2720 is superior at finding locations by name - type the word "Marriott" in for hotels and it will (unlike the 2620) display all flavors of Marriott properties - Residence Inn, Fairfield, Marriott Hotels, Marriott Resorts, etc. - far less frustrating than the old technology.

Menu choices in the 2720 are simple, straightforward and intuitive - far easier to find categories quickly than in the 2620. Plus, the 2720 allows one to save favorite locations by user-defined categories. I have set up categories for the states I travel to most frequently and save restaurant, hotel and client locations by state.

The 2720 voice guidance feature that now speaks the name of the street, highway exit number, destination name or destination address, is a significant improvement over the 2620's generic "in 400 feet exit right" or "in point-five miles arrive at destination on right". It is much easier to just listen to the 2720 say "in point-five miles take exit 11A on right to I-294 Tri-State Tollroad north". I don't have to look at the screen nearly as much because the voice commands are so concise.

And finally, although I've only scratched the surface of why I love this thing, I've never had a problem with getting turn or exit cues too late. Anyone who has ever used a Hertz Neverlost system will know what I'm talking about - it seemed like the turn/exit cues always came right after I passed the street or exit I was supposed to take. The 2720 announces these cues as much as 2 miles in advance (depending in part on your speed), and gives continuous cues at about 1 mile, half-mile, .2 miles, 400 feet, etc. I've never missed a turn because of a late cue - only because I was in the wrong lane.

In short, I'd recommend the 2720 to anyone. I can't imagine how even a very demanding user would be disappointed.

Before purchasing a GPS navigation assistant, I read a great many user reviews on a great many models. I felt the Garmin 2720 earned the best feedback and let that decide my purchase. I wasn't disappointed.

The unit is easy to program and user-friendly. The screen automatically adjusts for evening and daytime use, and the display (a convenient touch-screen for entering data) is crisp and clean...and so far hasn't washed out even in direct sunlight. The instruction booklets (one detailed and one quick reference) are simple to follow and well-organized.

There are only a couple of negatives to mention, and neither are deal-killers. There is a new toll road (open two months) that's not on the updated software, and it was mildly amusing to see my vehicle traveling over rolling green cow pastures on the Garmin display. I'm sure FL SR 429 will be added shortly. Second, and more importantly, the unit will often not permit me to enter rural addresses I know to be valid. Either the street name doesn't match the unit's list (and then you are on your own) or the unit will not allow me to enter the numeric portion of the address, defaulting instead to a different number. The latter case is not so bad, since there's a good chance you're on the right road.

I dare say that no civilian GPS system is perfect. But for the money, ease of use and awesome display, the Garmin 2720 is a solid performer and a good value.

I read several reviews before purchasing my Garmin StreetPilot 2720 - most of which convinced me to buy it. I have not ever regretted this purchase nor do I think I ever will. It is simply amazing. The best part is, it talks you through every part of your trip so you never have to think about it or take your attention off the road in front of you. The fact that it says street names is truly an asset. Shortly after buying it, I also decided to invest in the optional FM receiver so that the StreetPilot would be totally empowered and able to suggest detours based on traffic conditions in my path. To me, this made my whole purchase pay for itself. That should mean something coming from a technology pessimist such as myself.

I work in downtown Los Angeles and live in the Valley. For you locals reading this, you know what a nightmare that can be. Each day I leave for work, the traffic conditions are different. The StreetPilot automatically suggests a new route to steer me around heavy traffic. It guides me off the freeway onto surface streets so I get to my job on-time. Sometimes it guides me off the freeway and onto surface streets to get me past the problem that caused the jam. Then it puts me back onto the freeway for a smooth ride the rest of the way.

Recently, I took the StreetPilot 2720 with me on vacation to Las Vegas. It made navigating through the area very easy. It even helped me find ATM machines of my choice very easily (so I didn't have to pay those fees for using a third-party ATM.)

I salute Garmin for the StreetPilot! I look forward to seeing what else they come out with in the future.

Just got the 2720 a month ago. We recently completed a trip from MA to FL with stops in D.C. and NC to visit our sons. The DC location in particular is very tricky even with "written" directions. Not now! The 2720 talked us in beautifully. And even when I didn,t trust it, it was forgiving and "recalculated" us back on track. We will never go anywhere now without it. Also, the portability gives me great peace of mind to be able to transfer it to my wife's car when she is traveling. The features are plentiful and easy to understand. The touch response is the best i've seen for touch screen with a nice audio feedback of the touch. If you have waited or have been undecided, wait no more...this is the one to buy!

I have the Garmin StreetPilot 2720 this is the first time to use any type GPS system or purchase. Since 2 1/2 months I must say I love this unit, I will not leave home without the GPS. I travel all day or night throughout the Tri state in the North East and have found that this unit is very well made. Simple to use, easy to understand. Keying in the addresses are also easy, the sand bag mount that comes with the unit is well made and the unit never slid or fell off the dash board while driving. The graphics and the speech are very well clear and understandable. Driving out of the Holland tunnel for instance into NYC of course it lost reception but as soon as I exited the tunnel it recalculated very quickly before I need to continue without missing a beat. I do not have the external traffic receiver because I dont think I need it because my travels are at different times of the morning and evening commute. I have no other knowledge of any other GPS on the market I can say that I feel I have made a excellent purchase without feeling that I have made a mistake or choosing the right or wrong one, I have made the right choice by sticking with consumer reports and reading other peoples reviews along with the Garmin name of GPS. By using the location of hotels. PD, Fast foods Deli's, gas stations, etc It tells you the phone number and address of the stores direction and I must say I wished I had made this purchase a long time ago. I have turned on friends and family to this particular unit and they have purchase the same unit as well. I have not seen any problems with this unit and I use it everyday at 10 hours a day. I am sure I would of found something wrong by now and I have not. I hope this review will ease some consumers decision to purchase one.

Got it yesterday. Easy to use, just plug it into the cigarette lighter and turn it on. No problems. Need to enter street names that are numbers as numbers, "4" St. not "Fourth", etc. Manual included. A lot of erroneous negatibe info in some of these reviews. Unlikely the power cord will slip ff, nicely inset into unit. Love the voice directions. Should have come with a case for the money. Can't wait to go on a trip this week-end. Spent last evening entering family addresses, etc.

Update 3 weeks later: still no problems, updated software using the Garmin Webupdater without incident. Used customer support via email to see if the map software on included CD was already loaded on the unit; it was. Took 3-4 days for a reply. No problem with response time. Remote control only marginally useful but does allow you to zoom in on maps.

really want to give this guy high marks. i did alot of research before i bought it for my husband for christmas, and the reviews looked very good. my experience has not been so good. when it works, it works great. has easy to read screen, clear voice commands, simple navigaion features... unfortunatly, it has failed to work often, and trying to get garmin customer service help is next to impossible.

1st problem. it would not accept personal POI's. when i tried to get technical support via internet, they never answered my email (21 days and still no response), when i tried to phone i was on hold 24 minutes and was then disconnected when i got a human (yep, some cussing going on then). still can not add POI's.

2nd problem. the 12 volt cord does not seat well into the unit, so if there is a bump in the road... the unit disconnects and has to be turned on manually again, and find satellite reception again. an ongoing annoying problem. i am not sure if this is a problem common to this unit, or if my unit is defective. i intend to ask garmin when i eventaully get customer service.

3rd problem. the unit stopped working totally. well, i should say, it no longer gets satellite reception. i have tried to get ahold of garmin. sent them another 3 emails... still no reply. called their customer support number (toll free number rings busy over and over) so called their non-toll free number. on hold 36 minutes. was told it was a busy day and could they call me back. left message (5 days agao) no call back. called back again 3 days ago. on hold 30 minutes. finally got ahold of a human (not in the customer service department so she could not help me) she transfered me to the supervisor... who allowed me to leave a voice mail. still nothing to date....


so the moral to this review: garmin customer service is NOT GOOD. when the unit works, it seems to be great, but it only really worked 2 months. since garmin requires a return authorization number to get warranty, and the only way to get that number is to get it from customer support, i guess i have a fight ahead of me.

I spent months researching portable GPS units. Nearly all report this unit is the absolute best in its price range. After owning it for a month, I couldn't agree more. Very user freindly, extremely bright screen (auto dimable at night), very accurate, and plenty of flexibility.

They wanted $4,000 when I bought my Lexus LS430 four years ago and I said, 'thanks, but no thanks.' Since then more and more of my friends have bought portable units or cars with GPS included and they all liked them.

After some serious mis-directions from Google and Mapquest maps during a trip to New England, my wife said, "Maybe it's time for us to get a GPS!" I talked with an old college roommate to told me what to look for. Then after a couple of hours searching discussions and comments on the Internet, I settled on the StreetPilot 2720. Price shopping locally here in the Bay area and on the Web brought me to Amazon where I saved $200 from where I started.

Now I've had the unit for almost a month and have constantly used it and put it through the paces. It's flawless. Great design. So easy to use, etc. Specifics are mentioned in reviews above so I won't detail them except to tell you that three friends I showed the unit to during a drive said it was better than the unit in their brand new cars: Audi, Mercedes and Land Rover.

Don't hesitate to buy this one! I couldn't be happier.

You take it out of the box, you plug it in and sit it somewhere outside for 10 mintues while it gets itself oriented (a one-time deal). Then you put it in your car and you go.

The search is good for addresses, and for special Points of Interest (stores, schools, restaurants, gas stations ...) If you ask it where Starbucks is, "close to here" it will provide you with a list and keep updating that list as you move. At any time you can hit "Go to" and it will calculate directions.

It works well in bright sunlight and at night; it knows when dawn and dusk are on any particular day and acts accordingly.

Only two annoyances. First, the trip computer is always running, although you can reset it at any time. This means that your top speed is always being recorded. When I look at this, I wonder "when did I go *that* fast" and reset quickly ... Second, there is NO WAY you can update this thing from a Mac. You need your own PC or access to one. The good news: Garmin are starting to build support for Mac OS X and will have various updaters and other stuff out over the course of 2006. Since it's preloaded, you can probably wait ...

A great travel tool. I recommend it.

I just returned from a 2600-mile trip from North Carolina to Northern Maine and back, using my new 2720. I was generally very pleased. The database does have a few glitches. For example, coming into New York City from the north it had me crossing the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey en route to Columbia University in Manhattan, and before I realized what was happening I missed the last exit before the bridge, so I had to loop back and pay the $6 bridge toll to get back to Manhattan.

On the other hand it saved my potatoes a few times around Boston and in New Jersey.

Like all GPS systems, it falls down in areas where there are new roads, new exits and other new developments.

But overall I'm quite pleased with this product.

--Lan Sluder

The Garmin StreetPilot 2720 is the best GPS currently on Amazon for two reasons. First, this GPS is only a year old, and costs half as much as it originally did! Second, you will not sacrifice features by paying less for this GPS. It costs what a mid-level unit costs, but it is quite an advanced system.

The screen is approximately four inches by three inches and automatically adjusts its brightness depending on how bright your surroundings are.

It has all the features one would expect in any GPS: routes are programmable, but can be rerouted automatically while driving, you can set the route to avoid major roads and highways, and you can add your own points of interest to supplement the thousands pre-programmed in the GPS.

There are many other features, but one worth mentioning is the text-to-speech functionality. The GPS reads the names of roads and points of interest and tells you to drive to them, rather than merely telling you to drive and turn in certain directions. This feature makes the GPS more of a co-pilot, and less of a nuisance because you no longer need to take your eyes off the road to read the names of roads and locations.

The only negative aspects of this GPS are that the speaker is built into the power adapter rather than into the unit. Also, the GPS doesn't have voice recognition, so you can't tell it to take you to certain locations.

I have no sense of direction and really needed a GPS. I settled on this one and can tell you from experience that this is the unit to get if you want great features and reliablility, but do not want to spend $800.00+.

Last Thursday I bought the Garmin 2720 refurbished so basically new. It came with the upgraded Dvd that allows you to create your own waypoints and basically anything else you want and then upload it to the unit.

I just wanted to share some early thoughts about it for those of you who were in my position a little while ago and are considering purchasing this particular gps.

I live in Toronto (canada) and this is primarily where I am using the system and in the surrounding cities. When I first bought the unit it took about 10 minutes for it to initially acquire a satelite signal. The salesman at the store warned me that it could take up to a few hours the first time turning it on... so i was pretty happy to be using it on my drive home.

The unit is fairly easy to figure out how to use. I've never owned a gps system before but I've seen my friend's Magellan 700 and 800...(by the way always make sure you store it some where safe when you leave the car (even on your driveway)...don't leave your system visable in your parked car on at a crowded intersection because someone may throw a rock through your car window and steal it)...i know it's happened.

It's really easy to figure out how to use as I said but somethings in the settings menu take a little time to find. It took me a few days to try and find how to change it to metric (km) since we're not using mph here for distances. I finally asked my computer knowledgable brother who figured it out in 3 seconds...so i wasn't too upset but it was nice to know that i didn't have to download any software to use that function.

The first thing that upset me with the unit was that my street wasn't on the maps when I tried searching the directory. I had to add it with the computer software for one of my favourite locations...not a big deal again..i'm pretty easy going. some people might be frustrated with that though.

Another thing that I still don't like which is why I gave it 4/5 stars it that you can't use it on it's own with just batteries. It has to be plugged in to a power soure. In the car, the 12V and in a house with the AC cords (both provided). I was a little surprised that it had to be plugged into the wall (and usb) in order for the computer to recognize it. That's a bit annoying if you don't have an free outlet near your computer.

I drove to cottage country this weekend and I did know the route. I took the gps with me to see how accurate the maps/directions were. Folks, don't worry here...for me it was right on the money. It didn't necessarily give me the fastest route, but it did give the most direct. I went the wrong way on purpose well a way that I knew was better and it always recalulated the route in about 7 seconds..(it's always very fast recalculating!!. We were driving about 110km (70-80mph) and it didn't delay us at all if let's say we were lost.

The maps are very accurate when we went over this little stream in the middle of nowhere...the gps had the road/bridge there and as we went over the stream... it had our little triangle over the stream to the exact second.

This is a funny little complaint as well...I could be wrong, but I noticed there were no male voices giving out instructions... I know guys like to listen to female voices but instead I would like to have a guy tell me where to go when i'm driving :). I've found them all very clear and easy to hear... the volume is not fuzzy and it's so good in terms of volume levels that I get yelled at to turn it down because it drowns out the songs playing on radio.

In terms of turns...I find that it usually tells you when you're turns approaching with about 0.9-0.7m to go. that's on side roads and roads about 80km speed limit.

For it's components, the plug seems fine to me...hasn't fallen out or had the system restart...it goes right in like it should (i've tried on cr-vs and mini vans.) I really like the beanbag mount...it allows for the freedom to move it around during your trip and it doesn't slide when you speed up or break quickly..it's very secure on many types of dashboards.

The ETA is really accurate and today i even got there 2 minutes before it thought i would. it also adjusts the ETA according to how long you stop for or are stuck at trafic lights.

The screen is really great at night and during the day and I find you can see it well from the driver and passenger seats no matter where it's placed.

also ... when the system loses satelite signal (never happened to me) i don't think it's the gps's fault i think it has to do with the actual satelites...that's just my opinion.

Well that's about all I can think of now...I'm looking forward to taking it with me on a drive to PA coming up and I'll update after that to let you konw how the dircetions worked out...let's see if it calculates border delays ;).

Anyway great job Garmin so far on this unit!

I generally write tough reviews. So 4 stars coming from me is actually alot. To keep it short, anything below the 2720 is not enough. Anything above the 2720 maybe an overkill.

Pros
----------
1.) Extremely tough, I have dropped this thing on hardwood floor and cement at least 5+ times from desk level.

2.) The factory touchscreen has outstanding sensitivity for dragging with your fingers.

3.) The remote is a real plus for cars that have a deep dashboard. Excellent button placements.

4.) If power is lost, on reset it comes up on the exact same screen you were in before.

5.) It has not overheated once yet. And I have left this thing to bake in the sun with my car windows rolled up.

Cons
----------
1.) The sandbag station will slide off if you car dashboard is too tilted.

2.) If you're driving fast, and slam on the break. The sandbag station will not hold and the GPS will fly right off.

3.) The unit is too thick.

4.) The power cable can come lose with a light kick etc.

5.) No batteries allowed. If the person in the passenger seat kick the power cable by accident, your unit have no standby power. It just goes off.

6.) Poor reception in major high rise building areas. But to be fair you can say this about most GPS.

7.) To go from GPS mode to indoor non-GPS mode, it requires you to change the option in the menu manually. Or you can a long time until it lost satellite contact.

8.) Route recalc message covers the entire screen. Let's hope you don't have to recalc for too long or you'll be without a map.

9.) The power adapter is way too big for most small car cigarette lighter. You may need to purchase a separate 3-way splitter.

10.)Considering I have the end-of-2005 updates, too many of the stores and restaurants etc are far too outdated. This seems to be the same for just about every state I have crossed.

I loved the ease of using this device. When I first took it out for a test drive I delibertaley ignored directions to see how the recalculating route function worked and it performed flawlessly!

I live in Indaina, the first trip I took with the 2720 was a 2 week trip that started in Southern Arizona and ended in Northern California. The 2720 worked flawlessly!!! Using different route options I was able to explore different routes that I would've never done before. I always got to where I was going. It's all there, restaurants, hotels, laundry mats, gas stations..... it's amazing!!!

Truly worth the price I paid!!

Since my 2720 met with a slight mishap, I'm getting another. It's almost impossible to drive without it now.

Other reviews have talked about all the reasons this unit is wonderful. I agree with all. I do have one wish item, though. When I'm travelling, I use only a few "find" menu items frequently: Fast Food, Rest Stops, Gas and Hotels. It is annoying beyond belief to go through the menu items over and over. I wish there was something like "favorite items". This would be a huge convenience, and allow everyone to build their own. Or maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised, and the new model will be better in this regard.

My husband is a courier and his car is his office. Our kids and I wanted to chip in and get him a GPS system for his birthday so I did tremendous research on everything available. After reading 94 reviews from satisfied customers, the Garmin Street Pilot 2720 was what I decided to buy. No other system received the same commendations from customers than this one. Well, all those reviews were right on target. He loves it. I'm a home inspector and on the road allot and I managed to wrangle it away from him to try it myself. I must agree. It's great. It sits securely on the dashboard and has been 99% on target. There have only been a few ocassions that it turned me left when I should have turned right and vice versa. It has a tendency to send you around several blocks in order to make a U-turn, but if you have a sense of where you are going, you can make your own decision and it quickly re-calculates your direction. No more juggling driving, reading glasses and map reading. One of the best features is being forewarned of traffic problems and immediately directed to a detour. It's pricey, but worth every penny. If you're considering the purchase of a GPS system, do what I did, research, read, compare and look at consumer reviews. I'm pretty sure, you'll come to the same decision we did.

I bought the 2720 for use on a motorcycle. It has performed flawlessly, and is very easy to learn and use. It is also extremely accurate, and never let me get lost. Mounted on my BMW R1200 GS, it doesn't vibrate, isn't harmed by the heat (I rode from Phoenix through Vegas and up past Death Valley in July) and is bright enough to see in bright sunlight. It is also extremely easy to unhook and re-attach in my car, pickup, or in one case, a moving truck. The non-slip base they send along with it was an added bonus that I was unaware of when I made the purchase. This makes it really easy to place the system on any dashboard where it remains stable. My son (who has a 2-year old Magellan GPS) was really jealous of the non-slip base. I highly recommend this system, especially for motorcycle use where an occasional rain storm might come along.

I am a real estate appraiser by profession and bought my first GPS system, the StreetPilot 2610, 2-1/2 years ago. I had reached the age where the cones in my eyes were disappearing faster than an Artic glacier. (heheh) Reading my street map books, even with a magnifying glass besides the the time trying to determine plotting routes to snap my comparable photos everyday, was becoming more frustating and time consuming. I couldn't even begin to tell you the time my 2610 has saved me. I plug in all my addresses for my assignments the night before and it has made my driving schedule a lot easier and pleasureable- even in Los Angeles traffic.

As with others, I have found the Garmin support staff to be lacking in response and solutions. I have been unable to reach anyone on the 800 lime. The only response I appear to receive is by a 3-4 day e-mail. My 2610 system is loaded with City Navigator 5, which works fine in older established neighborhood areas. As my coverage area for appraisals has expanded this year and involves newer neighborhood tracts, my 2610's data has shown its age. The newer street names and/or neighborhoods aree not available to me. After a couple of attempts the past three months, I have been unable to order and/or receive the updated CN 7 disc for my 2610 StreetPilot. Very frustrating!

I finally gave up in frustration a couple of weeks ago and purchased a 2720. There are some things about each StreetPilot I like better.

Navigation: the 2720 is faster than the 2610. It notifies and modifies my route more quickly if I get off track, especially with WAAS on. I like having the voice announce the upcoming street names, but it wasn't a chore or distraction to quickly glance at the street name on the 2610's screen. The 2610's screen gives more street names than the 2720, which is important to me when trying to familarizing myself with neighborhoods. The 2610's screen is a bit more simpified, but highlights your "from-to" route and the arrow seems to following more consistently and smoother that the 2720's cursor. My 2610 prompted my at approximately one mile, approximately 1/2 mile, and again at 400'-200' feet, which was a nice option. My 2720 only informs at one mile, 1/2 mile, and when you get right to the street. I like the additional 200'-400' feet warning on my 2610. Having the entire U.S. coverage pre-loaded on my 2720 is a major plus instead of having several memory cards for various sections of the country I travel to with my 2610.

Screen: I'm still trying to get used to the 3D screen on the 2720. I'm finding it distracting and doesn't give me an overview of the progression my route. The large white destination arrow actually blocks the map, which makes looking for and comprehending my destination route/point harder to view on screen. While it's a nice added feature, I'm using the 2D screen on my 2720 more than the 3D option.

Volume: 2720's voices are softer and not as loud as my 2610's voice. If I turn the volume up on the 2720, the voices distort. Sometimes I feel my 2610's voice was too loud, but I could always hear it over the radio. I'm not finding that to be the case with the 2720.

Setup: the 2720's screen is more responsive to imput with my fingers than the 2610. The setup screen is easier having both letter and numbers on one page than having to flip pages for numbers and letters on the 2610. It is easier to save and store routes and jump between modes on the 2720 than my 2610.

At this point I heve decided to use both my 2610 and 2720 despending on my assignment area. Each seems to have advantages/disadvantages that I like/dislike. I'll update everyone at a future point as to how well this method is working and/or if I'm ever able to receive an updated City Navigaotor 7 for my 2610 from Garmin. I'm also curious to find out if each model plots a same route. As the 2610 has come down significantly in price from a couple of years ago, I think most people would find it will satisfy their needs- if it comes with City Navigator 7.

flew to Atanta for Christmas. I'd never been there in my life. Having the 2720 made visiting as simple as being back home. My son who'd been there 10 years needed me to take him to a local transmission shop he'd found in the yellow pages. I took him in without a hitch using Garmin's text to speech. With the text to speech feature I was able to keep my eyes on all the hectic traffic. I'll never travel without it. The only setback was the worry of leaving it in my hotel room or dinners.It's like having your own personal tour guide. Sure would be nice to have the option of male or femal response. Having another women's voice telling me I'm headed the wrong way can be taxing(Ha Ha).

The 2720 is even better than anticipated. It will always get you where you are going although sometimes it picks strange ways(directions)in doing so. If you go astray, it quickly corrects your course (within three seconds or so). The maps are accurate and features like distance "countdowns" along with verbal prompts help avoid wrong moves.

It tells you far enough in advance to get ready to turn. Before we had the 2720 we'd either miss our turn, or made quick turns (very dangerous) to get to our destination. It's better than having someone looking at a map and giving you directions while you're driving the car. We're still learning all the features, but it will be in the car with us everywhere we go from now on, even if we know exactly where we're going. Last night for example, it shaved 3 miles off a route we normally take from a shopping area back to our home. We've lived in the area for over 10 years, and we never took this road that would have saved us 6 miles there and back every time we went shopping! We figured that over the years we'd gone the "normal" route at least 50 times. We'd have saved 300 miles if we had known the route the 2720 gave. Imagine what it would have saved us if we had used it for that many years no matter where we traveled! I'm guessing a conservative 5k miles - wear and tear on the car, time, gas, you name it. We've needed the 2720 for a long time, and I'm glad we finally made the investment. It was money well spent and Amazon's price is just about the best.

I tried the Delorme with laptop first. It was very cumbersome and took a long time to lock on.
The 2720 is just as advertised. Ready to go out of the box and very user friendly. I think that the "bean bag" is one of the best features. It is very substantial and makes the unit very easy to hide when you park.
The Street Pilot has got me everywhere I've tried to go so far.

I bought this unit after purchasing an auto with a built in GPS, and wanted one for my other car. This product is terrific. Take it out of the box, plug it in and it works. Entering addresses on the touch screen couldn't be easier. Maps are easy to follow, instructions are clear. Much better than my built in unit.
Data base with hotels and restaurants is also terrific.
I recommend to anyone who wants an auto GPS. Portability is an added plus.

I knew I wanted to purchase a "portable" GPS system and was trying to decide the Magellan 760 and the Garmin StreetPilot 2720. My major concern was the text-to-speech feature on both. After going into a local Costco store and asking why they no longer carry Magellean, the front end manager said because of the high rate of returns (Since then I noticed they are carrying the newest Magellan unit). That, combined with other reviews I've read convinced me to go with the Garmin, and I have not been sorry.
A few weeks ago we went on an extended trip of more than 200 miles from our home to an area that I was totally unfamiliar. I cannot say whether the route the Garmin 2720 gave me was the best one since I have never traveled there before, but it got me to my destination almost to the minute it said it would. It kept adjusting for the speed I was doing so I knew not only exactly when I would arrive (so I could call my friends ahead of time to let them know), but how many more miles it would be to my destination.
I particuarly like the idea that it voices each turn by street, not something like "take the next right." In a congested area that feature can be very helpful. And when I am not using the GPS unit for a specific trip, I turn on the map function so I at least know where I am and what highways I am near in case I need to alter my route. The unit is very sturdy and has a great screen, even in direct sunlight it is easy to read. It automatically dims at night so as not to distract you too much.
If I changed my route even slightly, it immediately recaluates a new route (and fairly quickly I might add). I even drove my car into a mountainous region with a lot of country roads, and the Garmin never lost a beat and got me to exactly where I was heading. It was able to identify all the shortcuts and side roads that I wasn't even aware of. It also has a Detour button so if you get stuck in a traffic jam, you press the touch screen "detour" button and it recaluates a way around the traffic jam. The speaker is on the power cord which I feared would also be a problem, but it is no problem at all. The voice that is used is loud and clear in just about any driving condition. I've only had my unit a little less than a month, but so far I have given it quite a workout, and it has come through beautifully each time.
One other feature I really like is the beanbag base it comes with. Many of the other portable GPS systems I looked at were windshield mounted. I feared that taking it down when I parked the car in a area where it could easily be stolen would be a hassle. With the beanbag holder, the unit stays nicely put while driving and I need only to pick up the entire unit and put it on the floor of the car out of sight.
It is also very customizable. I am sure I am using only a fraction of its features. I guess the bottom line is, I like it enough to order another one for my other car instead of sharing it with my wife.

I bought this whilst in California and found it useful when going on trips to Yosemite etc. You just plug in and go. (You almost don't need to ever read the instructions it is so easy.) I was the main driver and it meant no more arguments of the best way to go or shouting because turns had been missed. Then I moved to Washington D.C with my family and the Garmin StreetPilot 2720 became the valuable piece of equipment. Where ever we were trying to go it got us there. I loved the fact you can just type in a shop name like Target and it will give you options of all the nearest ones. There is no more staring blindly at maps trying to figure out where you are and how to get back. I can truly say that I will never life without a navigation system. It is worth its weight in gold just for the now stress free trips to whether we feel like.

Garmin StreetPilot 2720 is great for its voice commands and color screen. I love the fact it switches into night mode all by itself. You can alter the angle of the screen best suited to your driving height and also to reduce the sun on the screen. You have several voices to pick from. The point of interest feature is extremely useful especially if you are like me and move to a new city. As of yet I have not looked into it more advanced features and I haven't really bothered to look in the instructions. The screens give you plan instructions. I also love the screen size as it means you can look at the screen and get a really good idea of the road ahead and areas and towns that are around you. Also you can easily put it in any car because of the soft grip bottom. I would recommend this to everyone wanting a navigation system.

We are using the unit in our car and our motorhome. The bean bag mount makes it very simple to transfer between rigs. The large screen is very readable, voice commands easy to understand. The remote control is very handy for the "copilot" to use in making inputs to the 2720. The trip information and GPS screens are great. We've found inputting information is simple. The onboard POI information is not as extensive as we had with the built in nav system in our previous vehicle (Lexus RX330). We expect that we'll be able to update the information via the internet so don't consider it much of a detraction. We have found that the routings and road information is very accurate, and with few exceptions, up to date. All and all, we like the features of the 2720 better than what we had with the built in system. Plus you can move it around. We are not using the traffic information system at this time. We consider the 2720 an excellent nav system and highly recommend it.

Generally, the unit itself works well and is reasonably intuitive to use. I have the traffic unit and it was easy to integrate.

If the Navteq maps for my area were not so bad, I would give this unit 4 or 5 stars. However, the maps for my area (San Diego) are dated and, more importantly, of poor quality. For example, new developments for which the streets have been in the Thomas Guide for two years are missing from the maps in this unit. The unit also frequently gives bad directions because of poor quality maps that do not properly distinguish side streets from collectors and arterial streets. For example, major east/west arterial streets in downtown San Diego that have synchronized traffic lights are not distinguished from side streets that have stop signs every 50 yards. Multilane suburban collector streets are frequently not distinguished from single lane side streets. The poor directions in areas I know lead me to not trust the unit elsewhere.

I use the GPS primarily on my motorcycle. So the issues may not apply to auto users. The unit comes with lots of mounts, none of which I use on my motorcycle, they do work well in the car though. I am using a Touratech mount for my motorcycle. The GPS comes up fairly fast, and loads the maps. It sometimes takes until the end of my street (about 3/4 of a mile) before it actually finds the satellites. The route calculation is pretty fast. What I prefer to do is use the included mapping software on my PC and create a route that I would like to follow. If I follow it, then it is very accurate, and the configurable displays are great. If I diverge from my pre-programmed route, it attempts to get you back on route. It does not usually recommend a U-turn (nice). However, if you took a shortcut (a different mountain pass for instance) it will keep recommending you go back the other way until you re-join your route, then it is nice and happy again.

Overall I am happy with it. Rain has not had any negative effects. I rode over 400 miles in the rain last weekend and the only side effect was a slight tarnish on the connectors on the back of the unit. I wiped it off, and good to go. It never stopped working and you can see the screen even with heavy raindrops on it.

I recommend this unit.

I've had this thing for about a month now and really love it. I have tested it against several known routes, and though it sometimes gives a different route than I would use, it adapts quickly to my choices. The thing is really inuitive and most basic functions can be used successfully without prior reference to the manual. The companion computer software that comes with it is not as intuitive as the unit itself, but once learned gives some powerful tools for route-planning. Downloading to the unit from the computer is simple.

When you vary from the route planned, a soft female voice simply says, "Recalculating" and quickly gives directions to get back on route. My wife's comment was, "That's one patient woman!" Uh huh!

I decided on StreetPilot 2720 after some research. It has since been used on 2 long distance trips, very useful product.

Pros:
very easy to use GUI
feature rich
bright screen (important when driving in sunny day)
two different mounting choices, I like the bean bag one, easy to move around between my minivan and camry

Cons:
I wish it comes with a battery, it restarts everytime car engine starts, even if it was on while parked
Satellite locking is slow when coming out of a garage in highrise city center

The Garmin StreetPilot does everything it's supposed to. It comes loaded and ready to go. Easy to set up. Easy to operate. If one makes a wrong turn by mistake the StreetPilot recalculates and puts the user on the corrected path in no time. The StreetPilot also comes with a mappng CD that is really awesome. I'm happy I invested the money for my RV.

I bought this GPS a month ago before we had family vacation. This is my first GPS. I love it!

Some GPS will crash during use but this one has never happened to me. It's stand is very solid. The instruction voice is very clear. You can adjust volume anytime. Whenever you like to hear instruction, you just touch bottom of "Speak". I think that the remote control is helpful. When you have 4-5 people in the car, some body can remotely control the GPS so the driver can just focus his driving. The instruction voice will tell you the street names and tell you keep on the left or right before you have a turn. I can just follow the voice instruction to drive.

I was very bad for direction whereever I go so this GPS is very helpful for me. It is like life support for me.

A few route are not the best choices but I think that happen to any GPS.

The volume control is on remote control but I cannot find it on the touch screen.

I bought this for my daughter and her boyfriend who were moving to Denver from Hawaii. Both had no idea where to go anywhere in the area. After spending 10 minutes reading the directions they set out to explore the area. They returned 2 hours later ecstatic. They found every site they set out for and never got lost once. They decided to take a long road trip and drove to Washington DC and back. No problems anywhere in the country. A great product that is easy to use, what could be better.

I bought this when we were moving to Houston and it has saved me countless hours of getting lost in a city with plenty of roads to get lost in. Out of the box I had a minor hiccup in trying to locate Satellites but a reboot of the unit cured that. After that it was smooth sailing to get the product up and working. Directions are clear and most addresses can be easily found. I have used this in Houston and Calgary, Canada with great results
br /
br /I would say 90% of the time I have no issues with this product and it works great.
br /Pros: easy to use, accurate mostly, clear spoken directions, good price, lots of features
br /
br /Now for the cons.
br /
br /Sometimes gets confused when roads are close together, takes about 20 seconds to get a satellite lock when turned on, maps are a bit dated so you can't find newer addresses and some of the businesses it locates for you have moved on.
br /
br /All in all a great investment.
br /
br /

This is an outstanding product that is furnished as advertised. In the days of complicated instructions or non-English speaking written instructions, it was incredibly easy to set up and commence using. I replaced a Magellan 7000 (failed after one year with non-existent customer sujpport) with the Garmin 2720. Fantastic features and functionality! I highly recommend it.

Moved to California a year ago. Driving into LA scares me; high traffic, high speeds bad drivers..........this Garmin is an awesome deal. Navigates me to LAX with EXACT directions. Even tells me which lane to be in!! Screen is very readable, voice prompts are dead on accurate. Saves addresses and searches. Locates by name, address, type of location (fuel, church, store). Bean bag mount is VERY secure and doesn't require adhesives or drilling on the dash. Tried a friend's and bought this one. HIGHLY recommend this Garmin.

I purchased the Garmin 2720 a few weeks ago just before a family vacation. The GPS was great during our travels letting us know what restaurants and rest stops were in the vicinity of our route. The product takes a lot of anxiety out of the picture when you are not familar with an area. Really my only diappointment was the fact that the product descriptions don't tell you that you MUST have a DVD drive on your computer to install the drivers and software to customize routes. This information should be very clear to the consumer. I did have a problem with the power cable that goes into the cigarette lighter, but called Garmin and they are sending a replacement. Overall, I think the product is great and would recommend it to anybody.

I've found this product to be very useful in the past year. Aside from some occasional misdirections when searching in its database (mostly with restaurants and once with Blockbuster), it gives accurate directions and is easy to use. It is easy to update the software and they have recently added different voice accents which is fun. My unit stopped working recently after about 9 month of use and it was due to failure of the power cable. Garmin customer service was prompt in responding to the problem but took about a month to send me a replacement cable because the product was out of stock. Overall I recommend the product.

On my recent trip to the Grand Canyon, I was traveling highways and byeways I'd never used before. Going through some cities, Phoenix for instance, would have been hecktic without the Garmin talking me through the lane changes and highway swaps. I'm a geocacher and own two handhelds; a Magellan SportTrak Topo and a Garmin 60CS. I've found the Garmin's maps, both in the GPS and on the computer superior to Magellans. What surprised me about the routing on the Street Pilot, you make a wrong trun, no problem, it'll talk you back on track.

[...]

I shopped around a long time for a GPS system to put in my car, and I have to say I am very pleased with the choice I made.

Without going into all the details about what it can or can't do, or trying to compare it to others of the same style, all I can say is that it is very featureful, user friendly, accurate, and requires little setup.

I think it only took me maybe 30min to get it from the box, to the dash of my car and have it working. The Software that comes with it is simple to use, just install it and with a little reading of the user guide I had it setup in no time.

The only thing I could say I don't like about it is that the speaker for it, is actually part of the power cord. Meaning that the end of the power cord that plugs into your car outlet has the speaker on the end of it.

Other than that it's been wonderful to use and I'm glad I have it.

I found the StreetPilot 2720 a tremendous upgrade from my older Garmin GPS. The screen was of a good size, visible in many lighting conditions, easily transportable from one vehicle to another and generally very reliable. Amazed at the data that is stored in the memory of the GPS. It even had our campground layout in Colter Bay in The Grand Tetons National Park in WY!! I also found the price offered by Amazon.com to be very competive and the shipping fast and reliable.
Wilson G

I have been using my street pilot 2720 for over one year without any problems. It takes you to where you need to go and even tell you if it located on your right or left side! It can help you optimize your route if you have several stops to make. I know people say that sometimes gps system does not give the best route but if you know the better route to take then go for it after all gps is just a computer with tons of data telling you one of the way to get there. I am very pleased with my system and don't leave homw without it. I think this is as good as any gps system with the newer chip unless you have dead beckoning you will experience some loss of gps signal in tunnels, garage parking and urban canyons but once you clear them your signal should return right away and you are on your way. Thank you hope this helps you out.

I used this product on a trip to New Mexico. The only problem I had was that I was still learning how to use it. After this trip, I will not be making any trips without it. The Streetpilot took me right to the locations I had requested. Its is an excellent tool to have on any trip.

My husband bought this for me as a birthday gift and what a gift it was! It's rare that you find something as technically powerfull as this that is as easy to use straight out of the box without looking though the manual. First I dreaded the idea of "hard mounting" something to my car... this comes with a great bean bag mount that sits very securly on my dashbord without any sliding at all though the tightest curves and slams of brakes. The display is clear and very easy to understand. The options for routing your trip and planning trips ahead of time are incredible. The ability to change your trip while in process is extrodinarily easy. I love being able to locate the closest bathroom breaks, gas stations, food stops, tow facility... you name it - it will find it with address and phone numbers. The option to program in your home location and no matter where you are you just hit "GO HOME" and it will take you there. We've already taken it on numerous trips that have led us through some of the most remote areas of Virginia/North Carolina and never lost satelite signal. I've only lost signal once in a parking garage. I love the remote control - also very easy to use and it also came with a handy carrying case to keep it stored when not in use. I honestly can't think of anything bad to say about this - it's really not only a life saver but a lot of fun - it's made our road trips a lot more enjoyable by not only routing us on more direct paths (avoiding interstates and traffic -and also cutting trip distance and saving gas) but I don't have to constantly go to an internet site and print off routes that I'm bound to follow becuase I know no other way... we recently moved to a new major city and I'm not constantly stopping to look at a street map wondering if the way I've chosen is really the best way to go. I love it, what more can I say.

Garmin just dropped this model, so if you want one, get it quick.

I just bought one and it is excellent. The bean-bag mount is plenty stable enough and easy to use. I thought the remote would be a silly gimic, but it is anything but that. Extremely useful and makes the unit much easier to use. No stretching to reach the touch-screen. Fantastic! I would not buy an add-on GPS without a remote now. The display is very readable. The voice/street-name prompts are easilly understood (I like the Aussie lady voice option). Satellite sync is quick where I live. The included AC adapter is nice for entering data indoors. The rev. 8 maps appear adequate and rev. 9 is due later this summer. I was suspicious of the speaker being built in to the cigar adapter, but actually that is a good thing single it pivots and you can aim it where you want, plus it is a pretty big speaker with clear sound.

Negatives are mostly minor: it's a bit heavy/bulky to store, an internal/add-on battery option would be nice, the cigar lighter/speaker plug is not a great fit for BMW cigar lighters - a little flaky contact, the biggest negative.

I think Garmin is nuts to drop this thing. At around $300 it is a steal. Looked at the C-series and other $300-$400 Garmins and the 2720 is much nicer. A serious tool with more flexibility.

Great product at a great price. I upgraded from a garmin streetpilot III. What a difference..Speed is lightning, display is great. Can't say enough about the improvements.
br /
br /Vendor did a great job and fast. recommend them as well

easy to use.i'm from connecticut,went to los angeles,i did not get lost once.I just plugged in all the places we wanted to go.It worked flawless.

Bought this for my wife as a birthday present. She LOVES it! She will admit to being directionally challenged and says she doesn't have to worry about that anymore. Any time we travel to a place we're not familiar with, it goes along. A great, easy to use unit that does what it says it will do.

I own and operate a 2610, 2620, and a 2010. Fine products and provide the information and interface I like. The 2720 is a nice device and is a useful instrument. I am still adjusting to changes in the 2720 interface and use of its remote. The 2600 series is easier for me to use. My wife uses the 2620 and prefers it to the 2720. Overall I think the 2720 is a nice upgrade and do not regret my purchase. Garmin makes a user friendly GPS and I strongly recommend them.

This is my first GPS devise. I just made several trips through the Los Angeles area using various freeways. In the past, I always stressed over the heavy traffic and getting on the right freeway. No more. This was the first time in years that I drove through L.A. with ease. My only complaint was the poor pronunciation of spanish street names using the TTS voice direction. Great unit.

My primary demand was for the unit to allow me to configure my own route, taking the roads I want, instead of it doing it for me. The software provided allows me to do that exact thing on my computer, to be uploaded to the unit for use.

I bighly recommend this unit to others.

I was a little hesitant to buy this product through Amazon rather than a local dealer but could not resist the price. Right out of the box it worked perfectly. It is extremely user friendly which I like very much. I have taken two long trips since purchasing and it worked perfectly.
The only time it got lost was when I was on a newly opened four lane highway, but it was right on track when the road finally joined the the old highway.
I think it is an excellent product and for the price it was a great deal.
Thanks Amazon for pricing at a reasonable price.
Merle

I got it out of the box, set up the "home" feature and my two adult son's took it with them on a West Coast road trip to watch 5 major league games from San Diego to Seattle. They totally relied on it. I use it every day for work as I travel the largest geographic county in the United States. I only have one minor regret... It doesn't operate on batteries for use away from a 12 volt power source. Oh well, being 99% pleased with a product is pretty hard to top. Great work, Garmin.

I use this GPS almost daily. I pickup and deliver cars for a dealership both locally and out of state. It has worked great for me everytime. Anyone looking for a GPS this Garmin is a very good choice.

Excellent! This is the third Garmin GPS I have bought over the last eight years. Superb Garmin quality, very easy to use etc etc.
br /
br /I love the large memory so that I can download extra data. Just used the unit in the UK the only trouble being that it won't navigate when out of the 'Americas' region. Everything else still works great just can't guide you........I was a bit dissapointed with that as we travel to Europe a lot.
br /
br /I use the unit in the car and on the motorcycle in all weathers no problems. The touch screen still works ggreat even with thick gloves on.
br /
br /Very pleased - no problems at all.

I've owned 4 gps's now .. the 2610 was nice (memory slot went bad, and I then bought 2720), this is a big improvment over the earlier 2610 with lots more features. voice and data info, motorcycle friendly (built-in solid state memory), 6 million point of interest...
br /even my wife has no problems using it.
br /
br /this is now discontinied ..

I used this unit 2 days after I received it. I installed it on my motorcycle and this thing was absolutely amazing. Very easy to use and helped to make my ride much more enjoyable as I just followed its easy to follow directions. Also had to find some hotels and addresses and it had no problem nor did I have any problems using these functions. I highly recommend this product to anyone looking for an easy to use GPS with almost all the features out there.

Considering that I can get lost in a closet, I invested in a GPS. I love it, and I would tell everyone to get something like this in their car. It makes it possible for me to find new routes to various locations, and to get off the main highway with confidence. I have programmed several driving 'vacations' into the GPS. The drives are more than one day - so I love that I can program a week of destinations into the unit and slowly plot my course along - get off the course if I want - and hop back on again to continue my route.

worked well easy to use

Product is good but not simple to learn. Works well on motorcycle and is water proof. Screen is small bur bright in the day.

I just ordered the c340 and will return the 2720. Why? One reason and that is, the battery power of the c340. (My fault in that I should have noticed the 2720 didn't have a battery.) I find that starting my car and THEN programming in the address or whatever is a pain. (Hey, I live in CA and gas is $3.20/gallon for regular! I like to start and drive.)

Other than that, the 2720 is good. I especially like the bean bag mount that's included. As I said, I live in CA and we can't legally mount on the windshield. So far, the bean bag hasn't moved at all and I like the fact that it makes the unit portable so I can use when needed in one of my other cars.

I'm no tech wiz but, as others have said, not necessary. The little quick user card is all I've looked at.

I'm looking forward to my c340 though and will keep the 2720 before returning it, just in case I don't like the c340.

I bought the 2720 for both my motorcycle and car. Its a good motorcycle GPS, because it handles the vibration, is water resistant and readable in full sunlight. While riding the motorcycle with an earbud, the voice prompts mean I don't have to look at the screen in heavy traffic or otherwise need to keep my eyes on the road. The 2720 is a great GPS for car or motorcycle.Garmin StreetPilot 2720 Traffic-Ready Portable GPS Navigator

I probably would have rated it lower, but it's my first GPS, so I can't compare it to others and I gave it the benefit of the doubt. The biggest complaint is it makes some absolutely boneheaded routing decisions. It thinks that any turn sharper than 90 degrees is a U turn and it won't consider it unless you turn U-turn avoidance off. When it doesn't like a turn, it will take you on detours that sometimes go for miles just so you can loop around somewhere - sometimes making left turns onto busy roads - and approach the target street in a way more to its liking. Often, when you go on the correct road, it thinks you didn't and it lets out an irritated sigh as it says "Recalculating" and then seems to be even more annoyed a few seconds later when it discovers that you have mysteriously teleported yourself back onto the correct road. Occasionally it hallucinates and thinks a road goes on for miles when it doesn't. This isn't a case of bad map data, as it happens intermittently, and then clears up the next day.
br /
br /However, it can be very handy. I usually program it even for routine commutes. If I hit a traffic jam, I just turn down the first side street I see, as long as it appears not to be a dead end. With U-Turn avoidance switched off, she often wants me to make a U-turn to get back on the road I was on, but if I go a short distance using dead reckoning, she adapts and finds a way. Just today, I got into a two-mile traffic backup approaching a highway that was at a standstill during rush hour. I went onto a side street, she took me through a series of local roads that all had no traffic at all, and then I magically appeared at my destination.
br /
br /I would have liked something more portable with a battery, but this one had a true widescreen - more pixels, not just square inches. All things considered, I'm glad I bought it.

I'm direction challenged, and can't read a map to save my life. This Garmin not only tells us where to go and how to get there, but keeps my dear husband from yelling at me for being a lousy navigator! In fact, I like it much better than the very expensive one that came with our Lexus. It's much easier to use, and offers more accurate information than the built-in GPS system. The only drawback is that "she" has a problem with pronunciation of street names at times, and I wish it had a larger screen.

The 2720 is amazing! We were in Santa Barbara yesterday and I have never had a easier drive in S.B. Found a furniture store we had had trouble finding in the past and looked up restaurants with ease! I have no complaints, this system is very easy to use.

I orignially purchased a 2620 street pilot to help with my real estate and property management business over 2 years ago. I loved it from the beginning. It died and I used my extended warranty to get the 2720 as a replacement. It was improved and included bluetooth as well as routing. I was so happy with the product that I hated to drive without one. So, I researched and found a great deal on Amazon for my other car. It is very easy to use, much easier then the competitor product that starts with an "M". I would recommend to anyone. In fact, my parents and numerous friends have purchased based seeing it in action in my car.

Only upgrade that I would request is an "Auto Route capability" where I can put in begin and end address an then any additional address and it automatically create the best route to make all the stops. Again, think of the real estate business where you show 10 houses. That would be helpful.

We actually bought this as a replacement for a old GPS. Original GPS only lasted 2 years ... and Garmin's repair costs did not justify repairing. It was cheaper to buy a replacement!!

Wonderful, took it all over northern California including the bay area and mountains east, it even took us on forest roads and never got lost during the two weeks in unfamiliar areas. My mother was absolutely amazed and thinks someone live somewhere programs each trip.

it is very simple to operate which at the age of 66 helps a great deal.you can't beat the price.it recalculates very quickly when you take a different route.

Great. I wanted an updated GPS that had a more visible screen than my Garmin GPS V Deluxe. Since I don't use XM or Sirius radio and since I don't do a lot of driving in a congested urban environment this unit is just what I need. It starts up quickly, is very visible, calculates a route very quickly, and adapts to slight deviations well. This past weekend I brought the unit into the house, developed a route from Meadville, PA to Falling Water near Ohiopyle; and started off. The route was precise and took us right there with no problems at all. Now that the prices have been reduced on this unit it would make it an excellent unit for basic routing and map checking. Highly recommended!

I have this GPS 2720 for over a year, everything work as I expected. One minor problem I email customer support and got fixed in one 1 week.
br /

We intitally purchased this GPS because we were going to spend a week in the LA/Hollywood area. We used it in the LA/Hollywood area and it was 99% accurate. It was truely a time saver in getting us to the various points of interest. We have used it on other trips in and around Atlanta and the Southeast. So far all of the addresses we have entered into the GPS were there. We have the 08 map update and so far it is sufficient for our needs. However; Garmin comes out with a yearly map update for approximately $60. We love our Garmin GPS and wouldn't travel without it.

This is a great GPS. We now have 16 of them on the road with no problems. They are very easy to set up and they work great.

MY WIFE AND I HAVE A 5TH WHEEL TRAILER AND LIKE TO TRAVEL THE BACK ROADS. THIS GPS IS VERY HANDY FOR KEEPING US ON THE RITE PATH. I WOULD SUGGEST GETTING THE LATEST MAP DDOWNLOAD. JOHN

This is the second Garmin 2720 I have bought. One for the car and this one for the motorcycle . Has the GPS functions I want without all the stuff one very seldem uses or wants. Had a problem withn the screen on this one but Garmin replaced the complete unit in 48 hrs. GREAT C/S with Garmin. One of the few companies that have C/S.................

I love this product! It is exciting to be able to get into the car, enter an address and be off not having to know the exact directions. Or, better yet, finding a restaurant or bookstore anywhere along the route.
br /
br /My only beef with the product is it's lack of support for Macs. I cannot update the firmware or maps because the software that comes with the product doesn't run on a Mac. I bought this back in April, 2007. I was told by Garmin that a Mac version would be available in a couple of months, so I've waited. It is now October and Garmin isn't responding to my e-mail concerning the lack of a Mac version to the software. The more roads change and businesses close/open in the area, the less helpful this product is. It was already a bit dated when I got it -- there's been a lot of construction in my area. It is very frustrating not to be able to get the maps updated!

This is my first GPS unit and was fairly easy to get up and running though more hours of reading the manual lie ahead if I want to learn to use all of its features. As a home care nurse I use the unit daily and generally find that my routing gets me where I need to go quickly. The voice feature allows me to keep my eyes on the road and still follow directions. The unit quickly recalculates alternate routes when I encounter road construction or traffic jams. I also use this unit on my motorcycle mounted on a RAM mount, which works well. The two most annoying traits I've found, so far: It's impossible to make accurate entries on the touch screen with my big fingers much less using gloved hands, and the screen is very difficult to see when on the bike in bright sunlight. I understand that a hood is available that may help. Amazon's vendor sells this refurbished unit for a very reasonable 149.00 with a 1 year warranty.

the garmin 2720 has done an excellant job every time we have used it. the only problem is sometimes a delay at certain intersection,on secondary roads. still a great device.

Portability is great - one size fits all vehicles. Good map grid for negotiating thru traffic construction areas in unfamiliar territory. Voice is nice for verbal directions (a dial volume control might be better). Bean bag base is safe secure while in transit. Have not yet used the traffic update feature. I would recommend this product to friends and others.

As prior owner of a very old StreetPilot I am amazed at how the technology has advanced. This thing works great!

Basically, it works great. I used it for a recent trip to LA - I had never driven in LA before. I carried it on my flight, put it into the rental car at the airport, and it prevented me from getting lost for a week. I had originally tried a friend's GPS that did not have text to voice capabilities. I did not like it because the upcoming turns did not name the streets, and so was sometimes confusing. Spend the extra bucks for text to voice. Finding points of interest such as restaurants, gas stations, etc were very helpful and very easy to do. Looking for a gas station on one trip took only a couple presses of the buttons or screen, and there one was only a couple of blocks from my location. Had I driven in a different direction aimlessly looking for a gas station without the GPS, I would have wasted a lot of time. It is definitely worth the money for traveling in unfamiliar territory. Pre-planning a trip is easy because I can view the streets, restaurants, etc on the west coast from my planning location on the east coast. All of my known destinations were loaded onto the GPS before I ever stepped off the plane.
br /Negative points: a couple of times when entering or leaving an expressway when there were multiple turns in close proximity, it was difficult to choose the correct ramp, but that was probably due to user error. It is very helpful to have a "co-pilot" to visually interpret the screen and the voice instructions during high speed with multiple upcoming turns, but that was on rare occasions. I was so confident of the GPS abilities that after random driving for almost an hour through Beverly Hills to sight see the nice homes and not knowing exactly where I was, a couple presses of buttons or screen and I was back on the fastest route to my hotel.

Never again will I travel in unfamiliar territory without 'Mabel', my new best friend. I'd rather forget to bring my cellphone than be without my StreetPilot. What a difference this tool makes!
br /
br /The only flaw I've noticed thus far is that sometimes Mabel can get confused when I try to set a destination that has numerics in the street name, i.e. 1410 S. 87th St. For this reason I recommend you still print out Mapquest directions as a backup.

I purchased the Garmin StreetPilot2720 for myself a few months back, and I've had nothing but fun with it every since... We have taken two small trips with it already without plans, finding restaurants and hotels with the unit. If I were to make any improvements at all, it would have a battery and it would also have the ability to do long distance searches for points of interest, etc. These two items alone should not be enough to deter you from purchasing it.... I have done a lot of research and read numerous reviews on other units, and I wouldn't trade for any other unit in this price range. A "big" plus for this unit is the size of the screen. It is large enough to sit on the dash with clear instructions, even without the voice option turned on.
Since I purchased mine, I decided to treat my dad to one as well... Needless to say he's been like a kid in a candy store ever since!
I give this unit 4 out of 5 stars... It's a keeper!!!

Ok, it's waterproof but has no battery? So it is waterproof just in case your car gets submerged in water? Since you can't use 2720 outdoors (no battery) WHY is it WATERPROOF? Does this make sense to you?
br /Other than that, it is a very good unit.
br /Among many good features that 2720 has, I like that I can choose what high ways to use myself instead of gps deciding it for me. All new garmin models have auto route feature ( I absoluteley hate it) that will recalculate your route automatically in case of traffic jam.
br /I own 2720 and nuvi 660. Both are good. I wish Garmin would make 2720 with battery
br /

I get lost all the time and when I moved to a new state this gadget was very helpful. Sometimes it does not give you the most efficient route or will make mistakes but overall it is very helpful. I would reccomend it.

My siblings and I bought this model as a gift for my father for his birthday. My spouse and I have the same model and were so pleased with it, we decided to buy my father the same model. It has so many great features and is extremely easy to use. At this point, I don't even use all of the features to their full potential. We love that it is portable and fairly small, although it does weigh a bit if you are planning on taking it on vacation in your carry-on! We would highly recommend this model.

This is the second one I've owned. It is people friendly,car in motion helpful and I love it! There may be better one's out there ,but this one served me well on a resent trip even when I made mistakes.

Use it for every shopping expedition--loaned it to a friend for their vacation. Easy to use, easy to read, easy to hear. Best buy in a long time!

I did a lot of shopping around and found the Garmin 2720 to be the best of the lot for the price. Easy to use and amazingly fun to have as a companion (yes, you will probably name her). No more lost turns or forgotten directions. Gives the best way to get to where you are going. At Amazon, the price was significantly cheaper than other sites. Don't even try comparing the price on Amazon to the retail outlets. There is none.

Although I would have to read the instructions to do all that I want this unit to do, I have really loved the Garmin. It hasn't been wrong yet - although it (aka, "Gloria") did get a little confused when there was construction (to be expected) - and I have stress-free driving. So many cool features ... I am a proud owner.

no subscription fees or setup charges to use GPS.
br /You can easily move the device from car to car.
br /I am very happy with this device.
br /
br /Thank you

Very pleased, easy setup, ready to go right out of the box. I couldn't be more happy with my purchase of this product.

I've been using my 2720 for a year and have traveled from south Florida to Canada and west Kansas and every state between. It always works great and really makes it easy to navigate through cities or get off the main road without getting lost. I use it in both my vehicles and never leave home without it. It doesn't always pick the best route but it always gets me where I want to go.
br / This note added July 10, 2007: These items are easy target for sticky fingers, forget to lock you doors one time and they are gone. Mine is gone but will be replaced with another Garmin StreetPilot.

I purchased this to eliminate the problem of having another person try to read me directions from a map or a Mapquest printout while I was driving. This device is amazing! We used it on our trip to Louisiana and New Orleans and it worked flawlessly! If you have ever tried to get around New Orleans, or the back roads of Louisiana, you will know what I mean. It is extremely easy to use and I would recommend it to anybody who travels to unfamiliar places.
br /
br /

This device is simple to set-up, activate,and use. Both the audio and visuals are clear and the options are useful. Good touch screen sensivity and accurate information. Re-calculates quickly once you deviate from your course. This particular device was recommended by an associate and it seems to live up to it's reputation. All in all, there is good value for money with this Garmin unit.

On a rainy day, I took I-395 to go from Alexandria Virginia to Dallues airport a jouney that should take no more than 25 minutes, but I ended up in Baltimore, and after a lot of sweat and nervousness, I happened to meet a policeman that I asked him the wrong question, I said, where am I?, and as you expect I was pulled to the side of the road, after all the checks he had to make, I think he felt sorry for me and gave me the directions needed, after all of that I managed to reach the airport after 3 hours of struggle, the next day I ordered my GPS Garmin StreetPilot 2720, and going around is now nothing but enjoyment and relaxation.

i have had the opportunity to use my garmin on several occassions and it has taken me directly to where it was set to go. no wrong turns or any other problems. would recommned to anyone who wants a top quality gps system.
br /
br /also like the ease of disconnect when parking or leaving the car for any length of time.
br /
br /highly recommended.

Loved the Street Pilot! I have had it for 1 year and it has navigated me through places I would have never found. Great for finding addresses that are obscure at night time as well. It is recommended to update its maps when new versions are available and I find it practical to still carry a map. Example is the Street Pilot may not be able to read or recognize a new road. It is loaded with numbers of great features! Comes with a remote for easy operation.

I love this GPS I bought it for my Victory Vision Motorcycle.My girlfriend and I use it when ever we need to go some place new. It works great on the bike or in the cars. Turn by turn voice commands guide us right to the location we seek.If you miss a turn the unit will redirect you to the location you seek.The screen is very clear giving the map location street names and compass direction your traveling.The touch screen programing is very easy to use and if you are computer savy you can program your trip on your computer and download it into the unit.
br /I love the fact that "Home" is locked in to the unit so from where ever you wind up one touch and the unit will take you back home.

I bought this model as a refurb for $300 a few years ago. I still have it. I have also, in that time, had a Magellan 700 (which died), a Tom Tom One 3rd. Ed., a Magellan 2200T, and a recently purchased Garmin 680.
br /
br /They all work and each has its positive points. The 2200T has the best suction cup mount by far, the TomTom lets you add map corrections, and the 680 has mp3 and bluetooth.
br /
br /However, if you just want the best, easiest to use gps, the old Garmin 2270 is it. It has a superb bean-bag mount, a brilliant display, a remote control, test-to-speech, great sound (the 680 is a joke by comparison) wonderful trip planning, and you can still get map updates for it. Its negatives are it does not get satellites indoors, the speaker is on the power adapter and a bit BIG (hence the great sound), and it has no internal battery capability. Also a bit bulky, but who really cares about that...it lives on the dash. Overall, it is a very polished gps product and Garmin has yet to match its gps features in the newer nuvi models.
br /
br /You can get these for a hundred and a half as refurbs with a one year warranty now, and they are, frankly, a steal at that price.
br /
br /

This GPS is easy to use, lots of options, and I am glad I have purchased it. I am never lost.
br /The only issues I dislike is, the time it takes to start up, no battery and sometimes the GPS unit has a bad connection with the satellites.

Bought this for use on my motorcycle. Dealer wants $1300 for essentially the same unit with Bluetooth (which I don't need) and their logo. This does the same thing at a fraction of the cost.

I upgraded from the 2620 to the 2720 because this one actually speaks with the names of the streets or freeway so you don't have to look at the screen while you are driving.
br /
br /Very user friendly!

I bought this unit about 10 months ago and very happy with it. What I really wanted to point out here is the impressive way that Garmin stands behind their product. Last month mine fell off the dashboard of my car and landed screen side down on my stick shift, shattering the screen. I called Garmin customer support to find out if I could pay them to fix it. After fully explaining how the unit was damaged I was told that Garmin would replace the unit - for FREE!!! I sent back my destroyed GPS and had a brand new one within a week. You can bet my next GPS will be a Garmin too.

I bought this for my wife. She did not want anything complicated or distracting while driving. It is a great product and very easy to use. They do a great job of making an advanced and complex device easy to operate. The only negative is updating the units software. Garmin does a very poor job of explaining this. If you can install a printer the old fashioned way you will eventually figure this out.

i bought the 2720 in january, never having owned a gps before. i didn't have much of a problem with it for the first couple of months but then it began to come apart at the seams rather quickly. the minor glitches are the following: recalculates for no reason (driving on the interstate with 50 miles to go, no turns, but, more importanly, in mid-route with turns coming up in seconds), if you type in the wrong letter of a street the systems shuts off and turns on again, forcing you to wait for it to set up and then you have to start the whole process once again, and the voice prompts for a turn comes very late, sometimes within 300 feet of a turn so if one is not paying attention you'll miss your turn (my friend has a tomtom which i borrowed and it called out the turns well in advance). these were the minor glitches, the big one is the power issue. the connection to the gps itself is flimsy and if you hit a bump in the road it slips out of its groove causing it to shut down or restart. this was nothing to the fact that the connection to the power source got worse and worse to the point that i had to get a car adapter from radio shack which helped the power stay on otherwise if i plugged it directly into my car it would only turn on half the time with no rhyme or reason to how i did it. even with the adapter the power would come on only if i got the chord just right and then if i did it would slip out the back. very frustrating for once its on its great but it was too off and on. i called garmin several times to ask about it but wait times were too long, 24 minutes, and e-mailing the tech department got only a computer generated reply and no personal feedback. garmin does make a good product (compared to other gps systems) and gps does make travelling much easier. the glitches i'm sure can be fixed but if i had to do it over again i would get a battery powered gps. one other note, if you travel in europe there are gps systems with both north america and european maps built in, garmin does not offer such a combo.

I have found this GPS very easy to use and for the most part accurate. Some problems were experienced while navigating in Lake Placid Florida, street names were not correct but the displayed map was point on. The unit also has some problems when the speech synth tries to pronounce spanish names in english. For ease of use and accuracy I would rate this unit at 4 stars as it is not quite perfect but very close. Bottom line is, that I do recommend this product to all I met. BTW - it works better when not held in wifes lap but placed on dash where you can actually see it!

This was the third Garmin we've owned. Our previous Street Pilot models were inferior to the 2720. While it worked, it was awesome. Unfortunately, the unit didn't even last 2 years. The touch screen stops responding. It was infrequent at first and a hard-reset would solve the problem (and delete all the user's data.) The problem got progressively worse to the point where it's not usable. A quick search of the Internet will show that there are dozens of people who've posted the same thing happening to their young units. Garmin owes a bunch of people money.

Too small and miss the battery back-up. GPS seems to miss-route and take you out of the way. Yet it does get you there!!!!!!!

It works well for most part. However I tried it in NYC and it was a disaster. The route was circuitous and missed obvious straight connections. It had two options - faster and shorter but it should have had a third option - simpler. For someone who is new to NYC (or any big city for that matter), you need simpler routes (with minimal road changes) that will allow easy and stress-free driving. In one route, we went through small roads (on the way, we avoided smaller roads but it was not a great help either) in downtown - it will say left when we had hundreds of maniac cabs on our left. before we could move left, the exit was gone and it had to recalculate. since roads were dense, by the time we heard about the new route, that road was also behind us. In the end, we used our simple GPS (our brains) to drive west till we hit the West Side Hwy. That took us straight to GW bridge where we wanted to go. In a nutshell, it is good but beware that common sense is not its virtue.

Easy to manage as well as to navigate.But i feel it needs little more updation on routes.But its good.

Gets in the general direction of where you intend to travel. Does take a round-about route at times. Don't throw away your paper maps!

Great service and we love the product. We went to NC and we would have been totally lost without it. Highly recommend.

I just received this unit and it took me a couple of hrs to set it up because the "CD" it came with is really a DVD so I downloaded everything off the net. So be sure you have a DVD player on your PC to set this up!

I am to leave tomorrow for Wintergreen Resort in Wintergreen VA & then on to Creekside Village in Basye VA, neither city can be found on this GPS so I am back to internet/print-it-up directions. Wintergreen does not come up on Google, but Google pulls up Nellyford for it which is close. Bayse is on Google.

It does NOT play sound in AC mode (you must have the DC hooked up as the speaker is attached to the cord and it's not very loud).

Either it doesn't have a PC interface where I could type in settings ahead of time or I have yet to figure it out (and I'm quite the PC nerd).

No QWERTY keyboard, it's in ABC order.

Very bulky. I had a TomTom which was compact, lighter and cheaper,
but had me going down roads that were dead ends & roads that weren't there!

Now I have a Magellen, which I liked but also has it's cons & it broke in the middle of a trip (only 2 mons old), so I hope Magellan will replace it.

Garmin StreetPilot 2720 - The power cord for this unit is horrible. I can't believe that Garmin would use such a junk design on this very expensive GPS unit. The cheap plastic tab that slides onto the GPS unit bends easily, causing the unit to reset when the vehicle hits a bump. This problem started out intermittently 3 months after purchased. At first I thought it was sliding out of position from the bumps, so I taped it. Eventually, it got worse. The thin plastic tab is now permanently bent and now the GPS resets on every bump (Taping it does NOT help). By the time I determined what was the real cause of the problem, I was told that my GPS is out of warranty and I must pay $44.95 + $6.00 shipping for a new power cord.
br /
br /Map software has MANY MANY BUGS and often gets lost. Routing is NOT repeatable. I reported problems after I owned this unit ONE MONTH. Was told that they knew of the problem, but had no fix. After 15 months, they now have an updated software version, but you must pay $69.99 + shipping to fix the bugs reported over 15 months ago.
br /
br /Tech support personnel are courteous and try to help, but company policies are NOT customer friendly. If you find a problem, it will cost you to get it fixed.
br /
br /I WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER GARMIN PRODUCT!!!!!!
br /

I've never regreted buying this thing. It's been on several trips and used in my work on a daily basis. No, I don't believe you'll find one that will always be 100% accurate, maybe on down the road, but I've been super impressed with it's capabilities. Going to Atlanta this next week and it sure is sweet not to sweat being in the right lane through metropolitan areas. At 18, not knowing exactly where I was going was fun, now at 42 it's not fun anymore. This unit has put some thrill back into the trip process, "Jill" and I are tight.

Way to distracting to drive and ask this thing to compute a new route, then it has a feature that "knows best" and will screw you, honestly, for this price it shouldn't be this difficult to setup properly. If you like driving in circles, this is the product for you. Reviewed by a retired submarine sailor, Electronics Technician!

Ordered BRAND NEW Garmin GPS from Amazon. Received used and non-functional GPS. Returned it and received ANOTHER used and non-functioning GPS. Returned that and then had to wait weeks for a refund.
br /Amazon the problem!!! Never to use Amazon again!!!!

I have had one for almost 1 year. It work well until recently. It fails to acquire satellite signals nearly every time I try to use it now. It's useless. It will sometimes acquire a signal if I turn in on and off several times. Garmin's support is non-existent. I have updated software regularly. A web search indicates that this problem has been ongoing for quite a while.

It is probably on of the neatest tools (toys) I have ever gotten. Really saves on travel time.